Holiday Eating Made Healthier

Get 5 tips for enjoying your favorites without gaining an inch

By
Karen Ansel, RD

Dec 11, 2009

iStockphoto

Love the holidays but hate that you can't zip your skirt once they're over? Six weeks of nonstop parties can do that to a person. But it doesn't have to be that way. Getting through the season without piling on pounds is all about knowing where the pitfalls are—and avoiding them.

Potential Pitfall #1: You can't bake cookies without nibbling on chocolate chips and licking the bowl.

Chew on a piece of sugarless gum. Not only will it keep your mouth busy and prevent you from eating half of the ingredients, it might even quash your cravings for sweets. In a recent study, people who had gum after lunch ate fewer calories from snacks that afternoon compared with those who had the exact same lunch but no gum.

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Potential Pitfall #2: You see a buffet or passed hors d'oeuvres and want a little taste of everything.

Be picky. "Only choose the foods that you don't get to eat all year long," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. If it's passed hors d'oeuvres, limit yourself to three; with a buffet, be sure to take the basics— fruits and veggies, lean protein like turkey—along with a small serving of some of your favorites. Treating yourself to a little cheese fondue or a glass of eggnog and bypassing the stuff you can get year-round will help you feel more than satisfied without inhaling hundreds of extra calories.

Potential Pitfall #3: Your mother (or mother-in-law) won't let you out the door without a heaping helping of leftovers.

Skip the "thanks but no thanks" conversation that's bound to hurt some feelings and instead tell her you'd really love some of the main dish. (You're less likely to binge on pot roast and potatoes than on apple pie.) When you get home, divide it into single-serve containers, pop it in the freezer and save it for a night when you're not in the mood to cook.

Potential Pitfall #4: If you even think about leaving the marshmallows off the sweet potatoes, you'll have a mutiny on your hand.

Don't mess with your family's favorites, but limit portion sizes. "If many of your treasured holiday recipes contain lots of butter, that's fine once a year," says David W. Grotto, RD, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life. Just eat servings that are half the size you'd normally take, and round out your plate with generous portions of lighter items, like salad. Also, limit portions before you even get to the table, suggests Michelle May, MD, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break Your Eat-Repent- Repeat Cycle. "Why make four batches of cookies when one will do?" she says. Curtailing your cooking also cuts down on leftovers and the risk of bingeing on them (if you're not careful, those "just for the holidays" favorites can linger like an unwanted houseguest). A good rule: Any leftovers that can't get frozen right away stay in the fridge for two days, max. After that, toss them.

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Potential Pitfall #5: Goodies are all over: in the mail, at the office, coming home from school with your kids.

If you eat it, you write it. "Now's a good time to keep a food journal. Even if you only do it for just a few weeks, it's a surefire way to stay accountable for what you're eating," says Robin Plotkin, RD, a culinary and nutrition consultant in Dallas. Get one of those little notebooks so you can carry it with you wherever you go, or log foods in your PDA. You can also keep your food journal online, using a site like FitDay.com.

If you're not the journaling type, plaster a Post-it note to your desk or refrigerator every time you have a cookie, brownie or doughnut—and don't peel them off until the end of each week. A visual reminder that you're eating five, six or more little treats a day should give you the jolt you need to put the brakes on.

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